UK Investigates Antisemitic Speeches By Iranian Generals

The UK’s Charity Commission is investigating videos featuring antisemitic speeches by Iranian generals delivered to British students.

The videos include "death to Israel" chants recorded at a UK Islamic charity's premises, the BBC reported.

Two of the videos also showcase talks by members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with one speaker describing an apocalyptic war against Jews and denying the Holocaust.

Concerns are mounting over the potential radicalization of UK Muslims by the IRGC and security services have issued warnings regarding possible incitement to violence and plots on British soil. The IRGC, known for its involvement in kidnap and assassination plots in the UK, exerts control over Iran's foreign covert operations and provides support to militant groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.

The commission's chair, Orlando Fraser, has previously warned that charities must not "become forums for hate speech" or extremism. The Charity Commission has the power to investigate, sanction or close down charities which breach the regulations.

In an Instagram Live session from Iran in September 2020, IRGC commander Hossein Yekta urged students to become "soft-war officers." Another video showed former IRGC commander Saeed Ghasemi falsely denying the Holocaust and discussing an apocalyptic war, suggesting British students could participate to "end the life of oppressors, occupiers, Zionists, and Jews worldwide."

The chair of the UK Foreign Affairs Committee, Alicia Kearns, has called for the proscription of the IRGC, expressing concerns about the potential impact of the group's activities in the country, citing them as “brazen act of radicalization.”

Last year, the UK Home Secretary said the IRGC was the single biggest threat to the UK while tens of IRGC plots had been foiled as revealed by MI5, at least 10 in 2022 and more during 2023, including threats to Iran International's staff.